Professor Bucy received her B.A. degree in 1975 from Austin College and her J.D. in 1978 from Washington University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. Upon graduation from law school, Professor Bucy served as law clerk to the Honorable Theodore McMillian of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

From 1980 through May 1987, Professor Bucy was an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. She served in the Criminal Division, specializing in prosecutions of white-collar criminal fraud. She established and served as coordinator of the Health Care Fraud Task Force for the Eastern District of Missouri. While with the U.S. Department of Justice, Professor Bucy served as an instructor of the appellate advocacy course in the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney GeneralÕs Advocacy Institute.